6 April 2020

A senior Milton Keynes nurse did what comes naturally to any medic when she was the first on the scene at an accident, while she was on her way to work to cover for a colleague with Covid symptoms.

Charlotte Appiah, who manages the A&E mental health liaison team for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for CNWL at Milton Keynes Hospital, was on her way for her second shift of the day when she came across the car on its roof one evening.

“I had left for work and was travelling along the A5 when I came across this car. I was actually first on the scene and it looked to be an horrific accident as the driver had come off the road and gone up the verge and was upside down.

“There was no one else around. I stopped and climbed up the verge to see if there was anyone inside the vehicle and found a man who was trapped in the car with head and arm injuries, though still conscious.

“I spoke to him for a few minutes, asking him his name, age and then managed to stop another car driver to assist me with the injured man while I called 999. However due to the Coronavirus situation there was going to be a wait for an ambulance so I kept the man calm and put pressure on his wounds.”

Charlotte said her reaction was natural for her. “I’m a nurse and there was no one else around.”